"Are You Talking to Me? What's 'Sit'?"

Well, well, well.

Today's attempt at a practice with Iggy mostly involved me saying "sit" and him doing nothing but trying to figure out how to get a treat without sitting. No, that's not true. That implies that he processed the command "sit" and tried something different. Today, he just appeared to not have the word register at all and stood beside me looking up at me like I was insane and/or he is too cute to have to be obedient. Both of those things might be true, but it wasn't really what I was trying to get across to him.

Perhaps I have been setting my goals too high. Perhaps I have turned a "mother's" blind eye to the progress of her "child." Perhaps I should realize that Iggy is still a puppy (at 19 months or so old) and doesn't yet have the concentration to "sit" outside. Especially when there's mud. He wouldn't want to get his backside damp. Lord knows he does and eats plenty of truly, maddeningly disgusting things, BUT he would greatly prefer, thank you very much, not to sit in the damp grass.

Bethena, in contrast, excels in the rain. She loves her p-o-o-l and the h-o-s-e and to go for a s-w-i-m. Iggy thinks curling up on the couch is pretty cool (that is, if no one will play "tug" or "chase me").

I tried to do a basic heeling pattern with Iggy in the side yard at work today (to get some work in before the next snow storm, which is supposed to be tomorrow). He didn't really see the point in it. I'm thinking that maybe Pioneer Valley next month will be Bethena's first rally leg and not make an attempt at a CD leg with Iggy. There is a match in Meredith, NH, the same weekend and perhaps a practice match would be more his speed.

What is rally? It is a new AKC-sanctioned obedience type. Instead of strict rules about NOT talking to your dog in the ring (as in traditional AKC obedience), rally encourages you to talk to and motivate your dog in the ring. The exercises are a little more "fun" and involve a series of "stations" that you do without the judge telling you what to do when. Instead, you perform each exercise according to the sign at the individual station. The first level -- rally novice -- is all on-lead. Bethena should be able to get her "RN" fairly easily, but you never know. In lots of ways rally novice is easier than her CD, which she got last summer, but she is an amazingly inventive dog. Always thinking, that one is.

Bethena's behaviors can happen almost anywhere. When she thinks it is worth her while, she can be obedient in a ring, on a hike, in the kennel at work, in the living room, the front yard, etc. She's pretty reliable on a recall while out for a walk (or she wouldn't be let off-leash). I once called her and Kris's dogs Maya and Iris off a deer they started to chase.... I don't take them for walks without a pocket full of treats so that coming to me is a GOOD thing. OTOH, if she decides that life is more interesting outside the ring, she has been known (on three separate occasions, in between her second and third/last legs of her CD) to fly out of the ring to go in search of 1) a hose to cool off with, 2) another dog to play with, and 3) an early treat/reward for being such a good dog. After the last episode (where she was headed either toward the hose or toward a van with an open side door, I'm not sure which), she nailed the trial the next day, getting her CD with a 189.5 and a blue ribbon. Go figure. I think it might have been because everyone who saw her the day before lined up along the sides of the ring to see if she would be so entertaining again.... She loves having an audience.

In answer to inquiring minds, a GSD is a German shepherd dog. Many of them are pretty finicking and particular about food, but the two dogs who were most distracted by the treat-distractions at the last class were a GSD and a Belgian tervureen (sp?). With predictions for 8 or so inches of snow/sleet/rain tomorrow, tho, I bet we won't end up having class. :-(

Hard to Practice Outside with Snow on the Ground

Hmmmmm. Last week was a teaser -- sun and mostly melted snow by the end of the weekend. Last night we had at least 8 inches, maybe more like 12, but it has collapsed into about 3 inches of slop at this point. So much for starting to get Iggy used to distractions like blowing leaves and sticks on the ground and cars going by and such like.

I took Iggy to class this afternoon and he did very well, he was one of two LABRADORS to do the recall through an obstacle course of distractions such as yummy treats and frisbees without picking any of them up. I had to tell him "leave it" once, but he did (leave it, that is) and kept coming to me. Whoo-hoo!! He is a good boy.

I had intended to work with Bethena before class, but got there too late to do much good. She was wound anyway, despite having tried to play frisbee ("flat flying disc" as she knows both the word 'frisbee' and the spelling 'f-r-i-s-b-e-e') with her this afternoon. Instead of playing, she was more interested in eating snow and playing tug with Iggy. Of course, tug was only interesting to her if I was standing there watching, which I was not inclined to do.

Anyway, we did a little bit before class -- she did a very nice short drop on recall -- but she ran off to see a GSD instead of staying with me (b-a-d dog) and then while I was taking her out to switch her with Iggy for class, she was tugging and squirming and turning around and wrapped the leash around me and tripped me up so that I sat on top of a bunch of water cooler bottles -- not my (or her) finest moment. It was the second time this week I fell while having the dogs on a leash, the first being at work yesterday morning (seems like months ago) when my biggest concerns were a) saving my coffee because I needed it and b) hoping I hadn't landed flat on my butt/back in dog poo.

Heide is trying to get me to go to rally class with Bethena on Saturday if I'm not working. Seeing as how this week has already been CRAZY with work (home after 12:30 on Monday/Tuesday, after 9:30 on Tuesday proper with a 2:30 am emergency call, and after 8:30 last night), I kind of doubt that I'll be done by the time of class Saturday afternoon. Still, it would be good for her and I think we will try to go.

Slow week

We practiced a little this week, it's a whole different ballgame outside. Iggy thinks the blowing leaves and bountiful sticks are much more interesting than stupid old heeling. He's probably right.

He did find an old glove to carry around while we were on a walk yesterday, he carried it for quite awhile. Maybe he's already thinking ahead to utility. When he dropped it, Bethena went over and sniffed but had no interest in picking it up. Sigh.

Bethena does continue to have fun retrieving things and trying to figure out the drop-on-recall business. She's so exuberant, it's hard not to laugh at her even when she's being a goof instead of "working."

Maybe we'll do more this week. Somehow, I doubt it.